Author Reinvents Science Textbooks as Lively, Fun Narratives

To middle school teacher Chad Pavlekovich, most science textbooks are dull and lack the context students need to understand scientific principles. That’s why he is exposing students in the town of Salisbury on Maryland’s Eastern Shore to three new textbooks that are unorthodox in concept, appearance and substance.

The "Story of Science" series by Joy Hakim tells the history of science with wit, narrative depth and research, all vetted by specialists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The first book is "Aristotle Leads the Way," the second is "Newton at the Center" and the third is "Einstein Adds a New Dimension." The series, which has drawn acclaim, chronicles not only great discoveries but also the scientists who made them.

"These books humanize science," Pavlekovich said.

By Valerie Strauss
Washington Post Staff Writer

Full Story: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/27/AR2008012702032.html?hpid=sec-education